Fountain-pen.



R. W. LOTZ.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

` APPLICATION man MAR. 1|. Isls.

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

Imm, NNmv- A I I I I I IP R'UDLPH WM. LOTZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

Speccation of Letters Patent.l Patented ilpi't. 16, 1918.

Application iled March 11, 1918. Serial No. 221,803.

' To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH IVM. Lo'rz, citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of clear, and exactdescription of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains tomake and use the same. l

This invention relates to improvements in fountain pens, and moreparticularly to socalled lever operated self-filling fountain pens. Ithas for its several objects:

First: To provide a fountain pen of this character in whichthe leverwhen closed, after being operated to collapse the ink reservoir isautomatically positively locked in its closed position. Y

Second: To provide a fountain penl in which the lever when closed andlocked is so housed by the slot in which it lies as to be inaccessiblefor operation to' reopen the saine intil the locking device therefor isreleased from engagement therewith.

Third: To provide means for locking the lever as aforesaid incombination with means whereby the lever is initially automaticallymoved toa partially open position so as to render it very easilyaccessible to the finger nail or ngei' tip for moving the saine to itscompletely open position.

F oui-th: To provide such a connection between the lever and thepressure bar of the pen as will cause the pressure bar to be held insuch close contact with a contiguous surface of the inner wall of thebarrel when the lever is iii closed position as to insure maximum inkcapacity of the ink reservoirwithin the fountain. pen barrel.

Fifth: To provide means on the lever and its lock for readily enablingthese partsV to be accurately positioned with relation tov each other inassembling the pens to insure ti'al longitudinal section of a fountainpen constructed inaccordance with my inveiition. x

Figs. '-2- and 3* are vertical'transverse sections of .the saine on thelines 2 2 and 8 3 respectively, of Figi-1 Figs. en and -5- are'fragmentary de'- tail transverse sections on the lines 4 4 and 5-15respectively, of Fig. -1*.

Fig. .-6- is a fragmentary detail top" plan view of` that portion of afountain pen containing the slot housing the locking element for thelever. Y

Referring now to said drawings, 1 indi'- Cates the cylindrical barrel ofak fountain pen which is of the usualv construction employed in pens ofthe character referred to. posed within said barrel 1 is a collapsibleink sack 2 also of the ordinary and well- Disknown construction, theopen end of which is connected with whatv is known as the pen sectioncontaining the nib or point and the f feed fo-r feeding ink to thepoint, all of whchparts are well-known in the art, and

are omitted from illustration for that reason.

The said barrel 1 is provided with a longitudinal slot 3 in which thelever 4 is .pivotally lmounted between its ends upo-n a pin 5 spanningthe slot between the ends thereof. The lever is Uv-shaped incross-section and the flanges thereof extend linwardly from the middleportion which is disposed practically flush with the outercircumferential face of the barrel 1. Mounted within the the pen sectionand nib into an ink-well for the purpose of filling or refilling a pen.The said bar 6 is provided substantially midwa between its ends with anelastic wire loop extending upwardly from the bar and which is4connected with one end ofthe levert by ineaiisof thepin 8 or similardevice spanning one end of said lever contiguous to the lower edgesofthe flangesl thereof, and at one end of the latter. The loop 7 ispreferably inade of an elastic wire and, in order to render` the samesuiiiciently flexible for the purposes of the present invention, it isextended at its ends to provide portions 9 normally lying flat upon theupper lface of the bar and having their ends passed through perforationsin the bar and turned 4over on the lower face of the saine intosmalllongitudinal grooves 10 provided for the purpose. lt will be notedthat when the pressure bar 6 is at the upper limit of its movement itsside edges lie in contact with the inner circumferential wall of thebarrel at portions disposed at either side of the slot 3. Then the leveris in closed position, as shown in full lines in Fig. -1-, the pin 8serves to distort the loop of wire 7 on the bar, including one of theend portions 9 thereof, thus yieldingly forcing the bar more firmly intoContact with the inner circumferential wall Vof the barrel at portionsdisposed at either side of the slot 3. .Vhen the lever is in closedposition, as shown in full lines in Fig. --1- the pin S serves todistort the loop of wire 7 on the bar, including one of the end portions9 thereof, thus yieldingly forcingv the bar more firmly into Contactwith the inner circumferential wall of the barrel and tending toknormally hold the lever in the position shown in dotted lines in llVhenthe lever is turned from the position shown in Fig. -1- through an arcof about ninety degrees the pressure bar 6` will be moved diametricallyof the barrel toV collapse the sack. At this time the pin 8 will bedisposed at the opposite end port-ion of the loop 7 from that in whichit lies when the lever is closed, said end of said loop constituting astop to limit the opening move- .mentl of the lever. lThe latter willnow be held in the vertical position until manually turned through anarc of substantially twenty or thirty degrees toward closed position;whereupon the expansive force of the sack will draw it back tol thepositionl substantially as shown in dotted lines in.

The slot 8 is` of greater length than the lever il and in one endthereof there is mounted a sliding latch member 11 consisting of all-shaped member having a top wall disposed flush, or substantiallyflush, with the outer circumferential wall of the barrel, and having twoparallel side flanges extending into the slot. rlhe top wall of saidmember 11 is projected beyond the ends of the flanges and bentdownwardly to form a sharp lip 12 which is adapted to engage in therecess 13 in the opposed ends of the flanges of the lever el. 1n theflanges let of the member 11v are through which a pin 16 passes; thelatter spanning the slot. rllhe rear end portion of the member 11 isfurther provided withy a closure element 17 preferably consisting of aflange disposed at the inner edgeof one of the flanges 11, and bent overat right angles thereto into Contact with the opposite flange. rilhesaid closure member 17 terminates in a lip 18 extending, upwardlybetween the flanges 1li and preferably intersecting the slots 15. Thissaid closure member 17 and the top wall of the member 11 longitudinalslot-s 15- terminate in rearwardly extending projections 19 and 20 whichextend beyond the ends of the flanges 14. The projection 19 engages in alongitudinal recess 21 in the outer circumferential wall of the barrelconstituting` what may be termed an extension of the slot 3. Theprojection 2O engages the inner circumferential wall of the barrel andcoacts with the projection 19 and the slots 15 and pin 16 to guide. themember 11 in its longitudinal movements in the slot. A spring 22 isinterposed between the lip 18 and the contiguous end wall of the slot 3and serves to normally hold the member 11 in the position shown in fulllines in Fig. -1-..

The recesses 13 in the flanges at the. contiguous end of the lever 4present shoulders 23 which are parallel with the axis of the barrel 1and below said shoulders 23 are inclined surfaces 24 which are adaptedto engage the inclined outer face ofthe lip 12 as` the lever f1 isforced toward itsk closed position to effect retraction of the member 11against the action of the spring 22 until the meeting surfaces of theshoulder 23 and inclined portions 24 have passed the forward edge of thelip 12 whereupon the spring 22 will cause the memloer` 11 to move to theposition shown in Fig. -1- to positively locl; the lever d in its closedposition. lnv the outer circumferential wall of the barrel there isprovided a transverse recess 25V and in the top wall of the member 11 isa transverse slot 26 which is disposed between the ends of the recess25' when th-e member 11 is in the position shown in full linesin Fig.-1-. A finger nail is adapted to be insertedv into the slot 26, and themember 11 moved against the action of the spring 22 to. rele-ase thelever. Thereupon the lever will automatically mov-e to the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. -1-, thus permitting the same to bereadily .engaged by the finger-nail or linger-tip for turning said leverthrough the aforesaid arc of about ninety degrees to effect comple-tecollapse of the ink reservoir 2.

llhen the lover d. is in closed position, as shown in full lines in Fig. -1- the space between the outer inclined surface of the lip 12 andthe opposed end portion of the lever e'r there will be no space betweensaid surnient is required, and I provide means for effectingv suchadjustment by rendering the li p 12 bendable to a limit extent, andfurther i by enabling the lip 18 to be bent to either side of theposition shown in Fig. -1-,

thus varying` the position of the latch'fmeni# pin 1G to determine thenormal position of the member 11.

l."Vhile I have shown the preferred embodiment of the invention in theaccompanying drawings, it will be understood, of course, that the sainemay be changed and varied in immaterial details `as mechanical slrillmay dictate without departing from theV invention as dened in theappended claims.

` I claim as my invention:

1. In a self-filling fountain pen includ" ing a barrel, having a.longitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar within the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between itsends in the slot in the barrel, one end of the lever engaging thepressure bar-for moving the latter diametrically of the barrel as saidlever is turned from closed to open position, a

manually operable plunger slidably mount ed within one end of the slot,and interengaging formations on said plunger and one end of said leverfor loc-king the latter against movement relatively to the barrel whenin its closed position.

2. In a self-filling fountain pen includ-v` .niatically engaging saidelement with'said lever as the latter is forced to its closed positionfor automaticall ositivel locking J. b

said lever against movement untilv said element is manually releasedfrom engagement with said lever.

3. In a Self-filling fountain pen including a barrel, having alongitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar within the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between itsends in the slot in the barrel, one end of the lever engaging thepressure bar for moving the latter dianieti'ically of the barrel as saidlever isv tui-ned from closed to open position, a spring-held latchplunger mounted to reciprocate in one end of said slot for automaticallyengaging one end of said lever to lock the same in its closed positionas said lever is forced thereto against the resistance of said' plungen4:. In a self-filling fountain pen including a barrel, havingv alongitudinal slot, a collapsibley ink-reservoir within the barrel, a

pressure bar within' the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between -itsendsr in the slot in the barrel, one end of the lever engaging thepressure bar for moving the latter diaineti'ically of the barrel as saidlever is turned from closed to open position, a manually operableplunger slidably mounted within one end of-tlie slot, iiiterengagingformations 'on said plunger and one end of saidlever for. lockingl thelatter againstV 5. In a self-illing fountain pen including a'barrel,having a longitudinal slot, a col- L la asible ink-reservoir Within thebarrel va n ,a pressure bar within the barrel, a lever pivotallymountedl between its ends in the slot4 in the barrel, one end of thelever engagingthe pressure bar for moving the latter diainetrically of.the 'barrel 4as said lever is turned from 'closed Vto open position,"la spring-held 'manually releasablelatch ele- Vment niov'ably mountedinon'e yend ofv said slot, and c'oacting formations on said latch sitionfor automaticallyH positively locking said lever against movement untilsaid'ele-y nient is manually released from engagement with said lever,the engagement of said bar with said lever includingv means co-actingwith the bar and the inner wall of thebarrel for yieldingly resistingclosure of .the'lever and automatically partially opening the same as itis released from engagement with said latch element. 1 i

6. In ,a self-filling fouiitainpen including a barrel, having. alongitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, avpressure bar within the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between itsends in lthe slot in the barrel, manuallyl releasable means forpositively locking the lever in its closed position, and connectionAbetween one end of said lever and said pressure bar for reciproeatingthe latter diametrically of the barrel as said lever is turned fromclosed to open velement and one end of said lever for auto-` maticallyengagingsaid element ,with said lever as the latter is forced to itsclosed po? position and vice versa, said connection inpartially openingthe same as it is released preparatory to turning the same to effectcollapse ofi the ink reservoir.

7. ln a self-filling fountain pen including a barrel, having a.longitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar` within the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between itsends in the slot in the barrel, manually releasable means for positivelylocking the lever in its closed position, anv elastic loop on the bar,Aa pin in one end of said lever passingthrough said loop for effectingzasliding'` connection between the bar and lever for reciprocating saidbar diametrically of the barrel as said lever is turned through any arcapproximating ninety degrees, said bar adapted' to engage the inner wallof the barrel before said lever attains itsclosed position and said loopadapted toyield as said lever is forced to closed position to cause thebar to firmly engage the inner wall of the barrel and to automaticallyeffect partial opening of the lever as the latter is released. from saidlocking means.

S. ln a self-filling fountain pen including av barrel, having alongitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar within the barrel7 a lever pivotally mounted between itsends-in the slot in the barrel, one end of the lever engaging thepressure bar for moving the latter diametrcally of the barrel as saidlever is turned from closed to open position, a manually operableplunger slidably mounted within one end ofthe slot, intereng'agingformations on said plunger and one end of said leven` for locking thelatter against movement relatively to the barrel when inv its closedposition, said plunger adapted to prevent digital engagement of thelever when the latter is in .closed position.

9. In. a self-lling fountain pen including a barrel, having alongitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar within the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between itsends in the slot in the barrel, one end of the lever engaging thepressure bar for moving the latter diametrlcally of the barrel as saidlever is turned from closed to open position, a spring-held manuallyreleasable latch element movably mounted in one end of said slot, andcoacting formations on said latch element and one end-of said lever forautomatically engaging said element with said lever as the latter isforced to its closed position for automatically positively locking saidlever against movement until said element is manually released freniengagement with said lever, said manually releasable means adapted toprevent digital engagement of the lever when the latter is in closedposition.

l0. In a self-filling fountain pen including a barrel, having alongitudinal slot, a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar within the barrel, a. lever pivotally mounted between itsends in the slotv in the barrel,` one end. of the lever engaging thepressure bar for moving the latter diametrically of the barrel as saidlever is turned from closed to open position, a springheld manuallyreleasable latch element movably mounted in one end of said slot,coacting formations on said latch element and one end of said lever forautomatically engaging said element with said lever as the latter isforced to its closed position for automatically positively lockingVsaid'lever against movement until said element is manually released fromengagement with said lever,l and means associated with one of saidelements and a part rigid with the barrel for effecting adjustment ofsaid coacting formations with respect to each other to insureinter-engagement thereof said lever is closed.

ll. ln a. self-filling fountain pen including a barrel, having alongitudinalslot7 a collapsible ink-reservoir within the barrel, apressure bar within the barrel, a lever pivotally mounted between itsends in the slot in the barrel, one end of the lever engaging thepressure bar for moving the latter diametrically of the barrel aslsaidlever is turned from closed to open position, a springheld manuallyreleasable latch element movably mounted in one end of said slot,coacting formations on said latch element and one end of said lever'forautomatically engnging` said element with said lever as the latter isforced to its closed position for automatically positively locking saidlever against movement until said element is manually released fromengagement with said lever, and bendable means on one of said parts insaid slot for effecting adjustment thereof to insure theirinter-eno'aoement to lock said lever as the latter is closed.

RUDOLPH WVM. LOTZ.

Copiesroffthiswpatent may be obtained for ve 'cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

